Burgess running unopposed for seat on Anderson school board

ANDERSON - Former Anderson School District 4 Superintendent Gary Burgess is running unopposed for a seat on the Anderson County Board of Education.

Burgess, who retired in June 2009, is running for the seat currently held by G. Randy Price. Price did not file for re-election and the deadline for filing in the non-partisan school board races was noon Monday.

In June, Burgess was one of eight Republican candidates who ran for South Carolina Superintendent of Education. Burgess got 17.14 percent of the vote, losing to Kelly Payne, Mick Zais and Elizabeth Moffley. Zais and Moffley went on to compete in a run-off vote, with Zais eventually winning the party's nomination.

Burgess was in the news in 2009 when a nurse at Pendleton High School filed a complaint against Burgess with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, saying he verbally assaulted her when he confronted her over medications for Burgess' son.

Later that year, Burgess was arrested by Anderson police officers in Darwin Wright Park for soliciting for immoral purposes. At trial, Burgess was found not guilty of the charges.

Burgess could not be reached for comment Monday.

Burgess is one of 42 candidates for various education offices throughout the county and one of six running for the county's board seats.

The Anderson County Board of Education has five seats up for election, four of them unopposed. Incumbents C. Dale Martin, Area 3 and Mike Brock, Area 5 will run unopposed. Incumbent Jeffrey Kubu will run against Dana Grant, of Anderson, for the Area 4 seat. A. Craig Drennon, Sr., of Starr, will run unopposed for the Area 6 seat, once held by Mike Gray before he died in November and now filled by Sean McGee.

The county board oversees the budgets and some services for the county's five school districts, which also have elected boards.

In Williamston-based Anderson School District 1, four seats are up for election. Fred Alexander, representing Area 4 and J. Doug Adkins, representing Area 5, will run unopposed. Incumbent Nancy Upton will face Greg Balog, of Williamston, for the Area 7 seat, while incumbent Wendy Tucker will face Melissa Hood, of Piedmont, and Dana McConnell, of Easley, for the Area 1 seat.

In Anderson School District 2, nine candidates will vie for five seats in the Honea Path-based district. In Area 1, which has two seats, Jan Holliday, an incumbent, and Gene Clinkscales, will run unopposed. Jim Lusk, an incumbent for the Area 1 seat, will run this election as an at-large candidate against Phil Ashley, of Honea Path, and Tom Beckwith, of Belton. John Clickscales, Jr. will run against incumbent Danny Hawkins for the Area 3 seat and DeAnne Deleon will run against incumbent Greg Tysl for the Area 4 seat.

In Iva-based Anderson School District 3, incumbents Larry Holbrook, Area 1 and Marty Watt, Area 4 will run unopposed, while Curtis Wiles, the incumbent, will face Tim Kelly, of Iva, for the at-large seat.

Pendleton-based Anderson School District 4 has seven candidates running for three seats. Paulette Grate, of Anderson, will run unopposed for the Area 2 seat, the seat currently held by Powell Hickman. Diana Mullikin, of Liberty; Bobby Brothers, of Pendleton and Richard Baldwin, of Pendleton, will vie for the Area 4 seat, currently held by Terry Williams. Leesa Bowman Martin, the incumbent for Area 5, will face Frances Graham, of Anderson and Bud Durham, of Pendleton.

And in Anderson-based Anderson School District 5, seven candidates will vie for one at-large seat. Bob Cornesky, Dick Smith, Dan Powell, Jhan Nixon, Larry Knighton, R. Scott Parker and Reed Cole, all from Anderson, will compete for the at-large seat currently held by long-time board chairman Mack Burriss. Incumbents Al Norris, Area 5; Margaret Mack, Area 2 and Rick Bradshaw, Area 6 will run unopposed.

School board elections will be held during the general election on November 2.